Forgather intransitive verb To convene; to gossip; to meet accidentally. [ Scot.] Jamieson.

Within that circle he forgathered with many a fool.

Wilson.

Forgave imperfect of Forgive .

Forge (fōrj) noun [ French forge , from Latin fabrica the workshop of an artisan who works in hard materials, from faber artisan, smith, as adj., skillful, ingenious; confer Greek ... soft, tender. Confer Fabric .]
1. A place or establishment where iron or other metals are wrought by heating and hammering; especially, a furnace, or a shop with its furnace, etc., where iron is heated and wrought; a smithy.

In the quick forge and working house of thought.

Shak.

2. The works where wrought iron is produced directly from the ore, or where iron is rendered malleable by puddling and shingling; a shingling mill.

3. The act of beating or working iron or steel; the manufacture of metallic bodies. [ Obsolete]

In the greater bodies the forge was easy.

Bacon.

American forge , a forge for the direct production of wrought iron, differing from the old Catalan forge mainly in using finely crushed ore and working continuously. Raymond. -- Catalan forge . (Metal.) See under Catalan . -- Forge cinder , the dross or slag form a forge or bloomary. -- Forge rolls , Forge train , the train of rolls by which a bloom is converted into puddle bars. -- Forge wagon (Mil.) , a wagon fitted up for transporting a blackmith's forge and tools. -- Portable forge , a light and compact blacksmith's forge, with bellows, etc., that may be moved from place to place.

Forge transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Forged (fōrjd); present participle & verbal noun Forging .] [ French forger , Old French forgier , from Latin fabricare , fabricari , to form, frame, fashion, from fabrica . See Forge , noun , and confer Fabricate .]
1. To form by heating and hammering; to beat into any particular shape, as a metal.

Mars's armor forged for proof eterne.

Shak.

2. To form or shape out in any way; to produce; to frame; to invent.

Those names that the schools forged , and put into the mouth of scholars, could never get admittance into common use.

Locke.

Do forge a life-long trouble for ourselves.

Tennyson.

3. To coin. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

4. To make falsely; to produce, as that which is untrue or not genuine; to fabricate; to counterfeit, as, a signature, or a signed document.

That paltry story is untrue,
And forged to cheat such gulls as you.

Hudibras.

Forged certificates of his . . . moral character.

Macaulay.

Syn. -- To fabricate; counterfeit; feign; falsify.

Forge intransitive verb [ See Forge , transitive verb , and for sense 2, confer Forge compel.]
1. To commit forgery.

2. (Nautical) To move heavily and slowly, as a ship after the sails are furled; to work one's way, as one ship in outsailing another; -- used especially in the phrase to forge ahead . Totten.

And off she [ a ship] forged without a shock.

De Quincey.

Forge transitive verb (Nautical) To impel forward slowly; as, to forge a ship forward.

Forgeman noun ; plural Forgemen A skilled smith, who has a hammerer to assist him.

Forger noun [ Confer French forgeur metal worker, Latin fabricator artificer. See Forge , noun & transitive verb , and confer Fabricator .] One who forges, makes, of forms; a fabricator; a falsifier.

2. Especially: One guilty of forgery; one who makes or issues a counterfeit document.

Forgery noun ; plural Forgeries . [ Confer French forgerie .]
1. The act of forging metal into shape. [ Obsolete]

Useless the forgery
Of brazen shield and spear.

Milton.

2. The act of forging, fabricating, or producing falsely; esp., the crime of fraudulently making or altering a writing or signature purporting to be made by another; the false making or material alteration of or addition to a written instrument for the purpose of deceit and fraud; as, the forgery of a bond. Bouvier.

3. That which is forged, fabricated, falsely devised, or counterfeited.

These are the forgeries of jealously.

Shak.

The writings going under the name of Aristobulus were a forgery of the second century.

Waterland.

Syn. -- Counterfeit ; Forgery . Counterfeit is chiefly used of imitations of coin, or of paper money, or of securities depending upon pictorial devices and engraved designs for identity or assurance of genuineness. Forgery is more properly applied to making a false imitation of an instrument depending on signatures to show genuineness and validity. Abbott.

Forget transitive verb [ imperfect Forgot ( Forgat Obsolete); past participle Forgotten , Forgot ; present participle & verbal noun Forgetting .] [ Middle English forgeten , foryeten , Anglo-Saxon forgietan , forgitan ; prefix for- + gietan , gitan (only in comp.), to get; confer Dutch vergeten , German vergessen , Swedish förgäta , Danish forgiette . See For- , and Get , transitive verb ]
1. To lose the remembrance of; to let go from the memory; to cease to have in mind; not to think of; also, to lose the power of; to cease from doing.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

Ps. ciii. 2.

Let my right hand forget her cunning.

Ps. cxxxvii. 5.

Hath thy knee forget to bow?

Shak.

2. To treat with inattention or disregard; to slight; to neglect.

Can a woman forget her sucking child? . . . Yes, they may forget , yet will I not forget thee.

Is. xlix. 15.

To forget one's self . (a) To become unmindful of one's own personality; to be lost in thought. (b) To be entirely unselfish. (c) To be guilty of what is unworthy of one; to lose one's dignity, temper, or self-control.

Forget-me-not noun [ Confer German vergissmeinnicht .] (Botany) A small herb, of the genus Myosotis ( M. palustris , incespitosa , etc.), bearing a beautiful blue flower, and extensively considered the emblem of fidelity.

» Formerly the name was given to the Ajuga Chamæpitus .

Forgetful adjective
1. Apt to forget; easily losing remembrance; as, a forgetful man should use helps to strengthen his memory.

2. Heedless; careless; neglectful; inattentive.

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers.

Hebrew xiii. 2.

3. Causing to forget; inducing oblivion; oblivious. [ Archaic or Poetic] "The forgetful wine." J. Webster.

Forgetfully adverb In a forgetful manner.

Forgetfulness noun
1. The quality of being forgetful; prononess to let slip from the mind.

2. Loss of remembrance or recollection; a ceasing to remember; oblivion.

A sweet forgetfulness of human care.

Pope.

3. Failure to bear in mind; careless omission; inattention; as, forgetfulness of duty.

Syn. -- Forgetfulnes , Oblivion . Forgetfulness is Anglo-Saxon, and oblivion is Latin. The former commonly has reference to persons, and marks a state of mind; the latter commonly has reference to things, and indicates a condition into which they are sunk. We blame a man for his forgetfulness ; we speak of some old custom as buried in oblivion . But this discrimination is not strictly adhered to.

Forgetive adjective [ From Forge .] Inventive; productive; capable. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Forgettable adjective Liable to be, or that may be, forgotten. Carlyle.

Forgetter noun One who forgets; a heedless person. Johnson.

Forgettingly adverb By forgetting.

Forging noun
1. The act of shaping metal by hammering or pressing.

2. The act of counterfeiting.

3. (Machinery) A piece of forged work in metal; -- a general name for a piece of hammered iron or steel.

There are very few yards in the world at which such forgings could be turned out.

London Times.

Forgivable adjective Capable of being forgiven; pardonable; venial. Sherwood.

Forgive transitive verb [ imperfect Forgave ; past participle Forgiven ; present participle & verbal noun Forgiving ] [ Middle English forgiven , foryiven , foryeven , Anglo-Saxon forgiefan , forgifan ; perhaps for- + giefan , gifan to give; confer Dutch vergeven , German vergeben , Icelandic fyrirgefa , Swedish f...rgifva , Goth. fragiban to give, grant. See For- , and Give , transitive verb ]
1. To give wholly; to make over without reservation; to resign.

To them that list the world's gay shows I leave,
And to great ones such folly do forgive .

Spenser.

2. To give up resentment or claim to requital on account of (an offense or wrong); to remit the penalty of; to pardon; -- said in reference to the act forgiven.

And their sins should be forgiven them.

Mark iv. 12.

He forgive injures so readily that he might be said to invite them.

Macaulay.

3. To cease to feel resentment against, on account of wrong committed; to give up claim to requital from or retribution upon (an offender); to absolve; to pardon; -- said of the person offending.

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

Luke xxiii. 34.

I as free forgive you, as I would be fforgiven .

Shak.

» Sometimes both the person and the offense follow as objects of the verb, sometimes one and sometimes the other being the indirect object. " Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Matt. vi. 12. "Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." Matt. ix. 2.

Syn. -- See excuse .

Forgiveness noun [ Anglo-Saxon forgifnes .]
1. The act of forgiving; the state of being forgiven; as, the forgiveness of sin or of injuries.

To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses .

Dan. ix. 9.

In whom we have . . . the forgiveness of sin.

Eph. i. 7.

2. Disposition to pardon; willingness to forgive.

If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

Ps. cxxx. 3, 4.

Syn. -- Pardon, remission. -- Forgiveness , Pardon . Forgiveness is Anglo-Saxon, and pardon Norman French, both implying a giving back . The word pardon , being early used in our Bible, has, in religious matters, the same sense as forgiveness ; but in the language of common life there is a difference between them, such as we often find between corresponding Anglo-Saxon and Norman words. Forgive points to inward feeling, and suppose alienated affection; when we ask forgiveness , we primarily seek the removal of anger. Pardon looks more to outward things or consequences, and is often applied to trifling matters, as when we beg pardon for interrupting a man, or for jostling him in a crowd. The civil magistrate also grants a pardon , and not forgiveness . The two words are, therefore, very clearly distinguished from each other in most cases which relate to the common concerns of life.

Forgiver noun One who forgives. Johnson.

Forgiving adjective Disposed to forgive; inclined to overlook offenses; mild; merciful; compassionate; placable; as, a forgiving temper.

-- For*giv"ing*ly , adverb -- For*giv"ing*ness , noun J. C. Shairp.

Forgo transitive verb [ imperfect Forwent ; past participle Forgone ; present participle & verbal noun Forgoing .] [ Middle English forgan , forgon , forgoon , Anglo-Saxon forgān, prop., to go past, hence, to abstain from; prefix for- + gān to go; akin to German vergehen to pass away, to transgress. See Go , intransitive verb ] To pass by; to leave. See 1st Forego .

For sith [ since] I shall forgoon my liberty
At your request.

Chaucer.

And four [ days] since Florimell the court forwent .

Spenser.

» This word in spelling has been confused with, and almost superseded by, forego to go before. Etymologically the form forgo is correct.

Forgot imperfect & past participle of Forget .

Forgotten past participle of Forget .

Forhall transitive verb [ Prefix for- + hale to draw.] To harass; to torment; to distress. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Forhend transitive verb To seize upon. [ Obsolete]

Forinsecal adjective [ Latin forinsecus from without.] Foreign; alien. [ Obsolete] Bp. Burnet.

Forisfamiliate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Forisfamiliated ; present participle & verbal noun Forisfamiliating .] [ Late Latin forisfamiliatus , past participle of forisfamiliater to forisfamiliate; Latin foris abroad, without + familia family.] (LAw) Literally, to put out of a family; hence, to portion off, so as to exclude further claim of inheritance; to emancipate (as a with his own consent) from paternal authority. Blackstone.

Forisfamiliate intransitive verb (Law) To renounce a legal title to a further share of paternal inheritance.

Forisfamiliation noun (Law) The act of forisfamiliating.

Fork (fôrk) noun [ Anglo-Saxon forc , from Latin furca . Confer Fourché , Furcate .]
1. An instrument consisting of a handle with a shank terminating in two or more prongs or tines, which are usually of metal, parallel and slightly curved; -- used for piercing, holding, taking up, or pitching anything.

2. Anything furcate or like a fork in shape, or furcate at the extremity; as, a tuning fork .

3. One of the parts into which anything is furcated or divided; a prong; a branch of a stream, a road, etc.; a barbed point, as of an arrow.

Let it fall . . . though the fork invade
The region of my heart.

Shak.

A thunderbolt with three forks .

Addison.

4. The place where a division or a union occurs; the angle or opening between two branches or limbs; as, the fork of a river, a tree, or a road.

5. The gibbet. [ Obsolete] Bp. Butler.

Fork beam (Shipbuilding) , a half beam to support a deck, where hatchways occur. -- Fork chuck (Wood Turning) , a lathe center having two prongs for driving the work. -- Fork head . (a) The barbed head of an arrow. (b) The forked end of a rod which forms part of a knuckle joint. -- In fork . (Mining) A mine is said to be in fork , or an engine to "have the water in fork ," when all the water is drawn out of the mine. Ure. -- The forks of a river or a road , the branches into which it divides, or which come together to form it; the place where separation or union takes place.

Fork intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Forked ; present participle & verbal noun Forking .]
1. To shoot into blades, as corn.

The corn beginneth to fork .

Mortimer.

2. To divide into two or more branches; as, a road, a tree, or a stream forks .

Fork transitive verb To raise, or pitch with a fork, as hay; to dig or turn over with a fork, as the soil.

Forking the sheaves on the high-laden cart.

Prof. Wilson.

To fork over or out , to hand or pay over, as money. [ Slang] G. Eliot.

Fork-tailed adjective (Zoology) Having the outer tail feathers longer than the median ones; swallow-tailed; -- said of many birds.

Fork-tailed flycatcher (Zoology) , a tropical American flycatcher ( Milvulus tyrannus ). - - Fork-tailed gull (Zoology) , a gull of the genus Xema , of two species, esp. X. Sabinii of the Arctic Ocean. -- Fork-tailed kite (Zoology) , a graceful American kite ( Elanoides forficatus ); -- called also swallow-tailed kite .

Forkbeard noun (Zoology) (a) A European fish ( Raniceps raninus ), having a large flat head; -- also called tadpole fish , and lesser forked beard . (b) The European forked hake or hake's-dame ( Phycis blennoides ); -- also called great forked beard .

Forked adjective
1. Formed into a forklike shape; having a fork; dividing into two or more prongs or branches; furcated; bifurcated; zigzag; as, the forked lighting.

A serpent seen, with forked tongue.

Shak.

2. Having a double meaning; ambiguous; equivocal.

Cross forked (Her.) , a cross, the ends of whose arms are divided into two sharp points; -- called also cross double fitché . A cross forked of three points is a cross, each of whose arms terminates in three sharp points. -- Forked counsel , advice pointing more than one way; ambiguous advice. [ Obsolete] B. Jonson.

-- Fork"ed*ly adverb -- Fork"ed*ness , noun

Forkerve transitive verb [ Obsolete] See Forcarve , transitive verb

Forkiness noun The quality or state or dividing in a forklike manner.

Forkless adjective Having no fork.

Forktail noun (Zoology) (a) One of several Asiatic and East Indian passerine birds, belonging to Enucurus , and allied genera. The tail is deeply forked. (b) A salmon in its fourth year's growth. [ Prov. Eng.]

Forky adjective Opening into two or more parts or shoots; forked; furcated. " Forky tongues." Pope.

Forlaft obsolete past participle of Forleave . Chaucer.

Forlay transitive verb [ Prefix for- + lay .] To lie in wait for; to ambush.

An ambushed thief forlays a traveler.

Dryden.

Forleave transitive verb [ Middle English forleven ; prefix for- + leven to leave.] To leave off wholly. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Forlend transitive verb To give up wholly. [ Obsolete]

Forlese transitive verb [ past participle Forlore , Forlorn ] [ Middle English forlesen . See Forlorn .] To lose utterly. [ Obsolete] haucer.

Forlet transitive verb [ Middle English forleten , Anglo-Saxon forlǣtan ; prefix for- + lǣtan to allow; akin to German verlassen to leave. See Let to allow.] To give up; to leave; to abandon. [ Obsolete] "To forlet sin." Chaucer.